


Houndstooth (All Demons Are Dogs)

by polandspringz



Series: Designing in Devildom [4]
Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Comedy, Crack Treated Seriously, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Menstruation, Obligatory "MC gets their period in Devildom" fic, Pairing is like MC/Everyone but I tagged the ones with the biggest spotlight, Spoilers for Lessons 16-20
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28546107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polandspringz/pseuds/polandspringz
Summary: Poland finally relaxes enough in the Devildom that she gets her period, and she's fine. The House of Lamentation, however, has yet to put all the pieces together about why there is a strong scent of blood coming from their housemate, and are growing more and more concerned.
Relationships: Asmodeus & Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Asmodeus/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Beelzebub & Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Beelzebub & Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Belphegor/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Main Character/Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)
Series: Designing in Devildom [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1864159
Comments: 8
Kudos: 103





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *Insert that TikTok audio meme of "If my nose is correct, one of you ladies is on your period. I'm right, aren't I??? Who is it?"*
> 
> So this was a story that was born from the title first and then two seconds later the idea came. It's very self indulgent but I tried to keep it from being TMI, it was mostly inspired by those awkward encounters with dogs when you go to someone's house and they blatantly smell you during that time of the month. (All my family friends have VERY large dogs, so I have almost been tackled by quite a few of them haha.) Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

No matter how Lucifer or Satan dressed or acted, Poland had come to one conclusion after three months in the Devildom.

All demons, especially the ones she was living with, were nothing more than dogs.

She had often heard the phrase men are dogs in the human world, and had experienced one too many unsavory encounters with gentlemen that were forceful, aggressive, or rude when she rejected their advances. However, normally when that saying came to mind it was in regards to men jumping all over a woman like horny animals. Heck, even in a dating simulator she used to play, one of the characters went so far as to remind the MC that men were “wolves” and that they would revert to primal urges when given the upper hand.

No, she didn’t mean that in regards to her housemates. What she meant was that-

“Hey, babe, why do you smell different today?”

_They were LITERAL dogs._

Poland was in the kitchen standing in front of the stove, stirring lightly a pot of fresh herbs as the pot boiled. It was early but there were no classes at RAD today, so she was able to wake up at her own pace without having to deal with the rush of the busy breakfast table and running to the academy. There was no sun in the Devildom sky, but she found herself waking up when the moon was bright and low in the sky, enough that it resembled a rising sun as it broke through the House of Lamentation’s garden and piercing her window with bright light that scattered like lavender against the dark violet sky. She had been confused at first, as her circadian rhythm had adjusted to Devildom’s day and night cycle and her sleep for the past few weeks had been normal. That was, until she started to slip out of bed and felt the tell tale warm, swirling pain in her lower back, and it dawned on her.

Despite the sudden menstrual cramps, she wasn’t that worried about how things were going to go. She had been blessed in that she never had strong pains during her period, instead her body just got very lethargic and she tended to sleep a lot more and wake up at the strangest times. She had also prepared for this situation in advance, the moment Lucifer had given her access to his credit card to use on her Akuzon account (she had been nothing but responsible and he still felt rather guilty about his mistreatment of her at the start of her stay), she had been able to purchase her preferred human world products, although she cringed a bit at the cross-realm shipping fee. She was terrified of Lucifer calling her in to ask what she been spending his money on and having to explain, which is why she was so thankful when the demon girl she had befriended, Prisaris, told her that demons had menstrual cycles too, and recommended her a cheaper alternative within Devildom.

So, she had climbed out of bed without much worry, going about her morning in a more leisurely manner than she normally would, showering and changing her clothes before she read through her Devildom herbalist book and selected some plants from her window sill, arriving in the _thankfully_ empty kitchen to prepare some tea to help soothe her cramps.

That was, until Mammon had come downstairs.

Until Mammon had leaned in and started sniffing her neck. He had asked the question before he leaned in and truly began to _smell her_ , making her body go ramrod stiff when he started moving down her back, his head bumping against her shoulders blades as he went lower-

“Hey! Stop that!” She surged into action and swatted at him with her one hand before bonking him over the head with the plastic spoon.

“Hey! That hurt!” He cried out, his fingers knitted together over his forehead. The spoon was hot from sitting in the water, and from how she swung it over some of the droplets fell onto his skin, leaving a small mark, “What’s up with you today? I was just smelling you!”  
  


“You can’t just _smell_ people Mammon! Not without their permission!”

She looked up at the man incredulously. He was still holding his forehead, eyes blown wide as he looked down at her dumbfounded at her actions. Slowly, she turned her gaze away and back to the pot. Silently, she dropped the spoon in the sink and selected a new one to continue stirring with. Mammon was still just standing there over her shoulder-

“Well then, _can_ I smell you now-”

“No!”

She turned back around with the spoon ready again, but stopped when she saw his lip quivering as he recoiled away from her in fear. Guilt panged her heart, and she set the spoon down, her hand absentmindedly turning off the stove as she turned around to face Mammon (her tea might be weaker now that it would cool a bit, but she had to make sacrifices). Reaching up, she peeled his hands away so she could look at the skin. He winced and with another sigh, she thumbed over the irritated skin and caressed his face lightly.

“It’ll heal magically, I know that much. But, just to make up for it-” she kept one hand cupping his cheek while she leaned down and reached inside one of the bottom cupboards for the first aid kit. Holding it against her stomach she managed to pop the case open with one hand and select a bandaid and only then did she pull away from her melodramatic demon to open the bandaid so she could smooth it over the wound.

“-There, your bangs will cover it, so no one will see it anyway. And, I’m sorry. But you should know it’s not polite to just start sniffing people!”

“I thought you were wearing perfume or something! I didn’t mean anything bad by it!”

_“Mammooon….”_ A low voice came rumbling from the kitchen entranceway, Lucifer’s foreboding morning glare entering the warm, low light as he emerged like a specter shrouded in his black cape, “What trouble are you getting into this early?”

“It’s nothing Lucifer, it was my fault,” Poland slid the first aid kit back away and turned back to the stove, “It’s safe to assume you want your usual coffee?”

_“Please,”_ he said, slumping down in his chair at the end of the dining room table, his head buried in his hand. Poland turned the heat back on underneath her pot before she began to flit around the countertops. She selected the bag of coffee beans from the upper cabinet and pulled the mortar and pestle out as she circled around Mammon, nudging him out of the way with her hip. He was still staring at her, and a dog-like grin beamed across his face as he admired her in the black apron tied around her.

“You know, you almost look like a housewife-”

“If you’re not going to help, go _sit down._ Or else would you like another hit with the _spoon?”_

Mammon quickly sat down next to Lucifer at the table, grumbling until the eldest brother shot him a death glare from underneath his hand. _Must be a migraine from lack of caffeine,_ Poland thought as she began to grind the beans down. Lucifer’s hands were bare and his gloves were thrown down on top of the marble tabletop. His hair was parted and he was dressed immaculately as usual, but there were unmistakable dark circles and his skin was ashy with fatigue. She didn’t like feeding into his caffeine addiction, but he always cheered up when he finally got his coffee in him, and ever since she had been treating him to more freshly ground, natural blends he had seemed happier and more pleasant to be around in the early hours.

By the time Satan made his way downstairs, the kitchen was an aroma of different smells, some bitter and medicinal and others sweet and dipped in honey. Poland had never been much of a cook back at home, but having all the free, clean kitchen space had given her the ability to expand her talents, especially since Beelzebub was literally willing to eat _anything_ (save for Solomon’s cooking) so there was always a taste tester around. Satan descended the stairs with a new book he planned to read in the garden after breakfast, but was blindsided when he saw Poland running around the counters, a tray of cinnamon rolls in one hand and two mugs clinking together in the other. He rushed to swoop in and take the tray from her before she dropped it.

“Whoops,” he breathed out with a light chuckle, “Let me help you with that. Why aren’t you two doing anything?” He yelled towards the table where the two eldest were lounging.

“Huh? I got kicked out, so I can’t help.”

Lucifer lifted his coffee mug instead of his face, his shoulders hunched in an obvious _don’t talk to me_ pose.

“It’s fine, thank you Satan. I can manage though.”

“Why are you making all this though? The others aren’t even up yet-”

“Oh, well I thought it would be a nice treat for everyone this morning! I woke up early so it was better to get a head start on it all before they all come down demanding different things.”

He furrowed his brow, “It’s not your job to do all the cooking. We take turns you know.”

“Of course I know that! I just felt like cooking this morning! Now, have a cinnamon roll and sit down. I’ll pour your coffee in just a second.”

She plucked a roll of the tray and popped it into his mouth, hurryingly over to the coffee pot where she began to pour out the desired amount and mix in cream and sugar. Satan pulled the sweet away from his face before he got covered in the liquid sugar running off of it, and wrinkled his nose when he suddenly _smelled_ it. It was out of place amongst all the other cooking scents in the air, it was stark and rusty. Almost-

“Hey, Poland, what else are you cooking because I smell-”

“Here’s your coffee!” She practically shoved the cup in his face, the hot liquid nearly sloshing out as it settled roughly into his hand. He looked at her smiling face over the rim of the mug, and sensed something strange in it, and decided to about-face and quickly hurry over to the table. Perhaps it was best not to ask questions.

Satan usually would sit himself as far away from his loud-mouthed 2nd oldest brother and Lucifer who he abhorred, but today he sat across from Mammon so he could be seated right next to Lucifer as he leaned in, his back to the kitchen and it’s happenings.

“Am I going crazy or do I smell-?”

Mammon put his hand up, “Stop right there. I already tried sniffing her and got hit.”

“I wasn’t going to smell her!” Satan hissed out, “Wait. _Her?”_

“I noticed it too,” Lucifer said, looking up finally from where he had been examining the cracks in the marble, “I’m not sure what it is, but I _doubt_ she’s hiding an injury from us. If the _blood_ odor was any stronger, it would be impossible to hide it.”

“What are you talking about? She literally hid the fact that she barely had any clothes from us for over a month!”

Lucifer winced at the reminder, “That is… true.”

“It’s definitely coming from her though,” Mammon nodded, “But if you even ask about it, she snaps.”

“Is she baking to get rid of the smell perhaps? Do you think she knows about it too?”

“Well considering that Mammon outright _smelled_ her and _you_ commented on it too, it’s likely she’s aware of it but I doubt that’s why she’s baking. She seems stressed.”

“She was making tea this morning,” Mammon added, “I don’t think she’s gotten to drink it yet.”

“She should sit down then. It’s not fair that she…”

Meanwhile, Poland was standing against the far wall, her hands knuckle gripped against the edge of the counter as she tried not to bash her head into the cabinet. They could _smell_ her. She had showered but _oh god_ was it really that bad? This had always been her worst fear since she had first learned what menstruation even was, but all the online articles and help books swore that no one could actually smell you. Was it because they were demons then? Did they have some sort of enhanced noses that made them able to smell pheromones better? But humans didn’t have pheromones, that was just a myth…

“I still have a few minutes before the rest of the stuff in the oven is ready. I’m going to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back…” she said and nervously skittered towards the hallway. _Am I bleeding through my clothes? Oh god I have to hurry and check-_

Her path was blocked by two figures in the doorway, one hulking and one armed with an expensive game console in his hands (she wouldn’t dream of pushing past him in case she knocked it to the floor and broke it). She had her head ducked and tried to find a small opening or way to slip around them, but the rumbling voice of the tallest one made her look up.

“Poland? What’s wrong?” Beelzebub asked.

“Nothing! I was just going to the bathroom, excuse me-”

Leviathan easily stepped out of the way, and she moved through the doorway trying to seem as nonchalant as possible. If she was seen running, she would feel even more embarrassed.

She wished she had ran though, when she saw Beelzebub and Levi stiffen as she ran past.

“Hey, wait, Poland-”

“Are you injured? You smell like blood.”

“You’re not hurt are you???” Leviathan tucked his console away and began to hover over her. _Shit, if Levi is getting this close, he must be concerned. How strong do I smell?_

Poland continued trying to inch away so she could hurry out of the room, but it was at that moment that Lucifer decided to stand from the table. Mammon and Satan were hanging back, but when Lucifer began to glide towards her, they followed to. Beelzebub and Leviathan parted like a sea as Lucifer’s cape-clad form glided over the threshold and stood in front of her. She knew there was no running now, she just _prayed_ she would be able to dissuade their worries without having to explain too much.

Lucifer leaned in close and squinted. He was more tactful than Mammon, not pressing his face to her skin or trailing down her body in any way, but she could see his face twitch and he breathed in… _whatever scent_ it was wafting in the air. His face slowly scrunched up, and before Poland could get two steps away, he was gripping her arm and twisting her back around to face him.

“Lucifer, I swear, I’m perfectly fine! I just need to go-”

“Where are you hurt? _Don’t lie to me._ You smell like blood. Did you cut yourself this morning while cooking?” His hands slid to her wrist to pull back the cuffs of her sleeve and examine the skin there. He found nothing of course, and frowned in confusion.

“Is it under your clothes? Did your skin get scratched by the corner of one of the counters? Is it your legs?”

“I was smelling it stronger near her back earlier,” Mammon chimed in, to which Lucifer immediately spun her around, and still holding her in place with her one arm gripped in the air, he leaned down and began to sniff along her neck. She wasn’t wearing a wig today, so when he brushed her hair aside to breath along her neck, his ungloved hand grazed the nape of her neck instead of an elastic band of a wig cap. If it had been any other time, perhaps she would’ve felt butterflies in her stomach, maybe she would’ve jumped at the sensation. But right now, her hair was oily from the hormones going wack inside her and she was certain Lucifer felt how thick and matted it was. Not only that, her skin was dry and her cramps were starting to worsen, and the longer she stood in the foyer frozen the longer she had to deal with the gross sensation between her legs every time she got jerked around like a ragdoll by the demons that didn’t know their own strength or boundaries.

It was humiliating. She knew they didn’t mean it, but what they were doing was borderline sexual harassment. She thought she would have enough strength to call them off if they ever did anything _wrong,_ but she was so far beyond embarrassed right now that her mouth had gone dry and she had clammed up, unable to think of anything except how gross she felt right now and how disgusting it was that she was stinking up the whole house with something she couldn’t even tell how bad it was. What could be worse? If one of them said they smelled something like fish? She had heard plenty of human men make jokes about that without knowing anything. Surely if demons had menstrual cycles too, they must have _some_ knowledge of it? Why weren’t they putting it together then? Why did she have to be the one to spell it out to them?

_No,_ she thought as her shoulders began to shake. Lucifer had stopped sniffing around her middle back when he felt her arm go limp in his hold. He tried to pull back to get a better look at her, tugging her around again so he could see her face-

A hand slapped across cheek to his nose, fingers just missing his eye as a red mark bloomed against his skin, stretching from chin to brow as he stumbled backwards. He blinked once, then twice until the black shadow of the hand cutting across his vision disappeared and his eyes focused on a seething, red-faced Poland with eyes full of tears as she shuddered and hiccuped with humiliation.

**_I shouldn’t have to tell them anything,_** she had thought when she whipped around to smack him away. **_It’s none of their business._**

****

“I’m going…” she gasped, “to the bathroom.”

****

Mammon stepped forward suddenly, fearing Lucifer’s retaliation as the eldest stiffened and his body began to glow along where his wings would soon form, his hand pressed tightly to his cheek, but then there were footsteps dashing down the stairs and Asmo appeared leaning over the railing, looking down at all of them.

“Oh my god, what happened? Poland, sweetie, are you alright-”

Asmo’s nose scrunched up for a moment, and Poland watched with horror as realization dawned over his expression.

“What happened?”

“Poland smells like blood and we thought she was injured, so Lucifer was trying to find out what was wrong,” Beel said. Asmo’s eyes widened, not in surprise but in shock. He covered his mouth with his hand and made a dramatic noise.

“Oh no! Poland, why didn’t you tell them- Oof!”

Poland knocked him over just as he descended to the bottom step. She dashed past him to the hallway hidden behind the stairs, the sound of a door slamming shut echoing and rattling through the walls. Asmo got up and dusted himself off, before turning to his brothers who were all standing there in confusion as well.

“What’s wrong with her?” Levi mumbled, looking at the others. Lucifer still was holding his cheek, his eyes ablaze at the affront to his authority in the house. Beel just looked upset, while Mammon seemed torn between running after his human and staying put to calm Lucifer down. Satan just watched the scene, likely racking his brain for whatever oversight they had made.

Asmo sighed and decided to put an end to all of their confusion. He stepped forward and put his hands on his hips, before stating plainly-

“She’s on her period. That’s what the smell was.”

Asmo took some sick delight in watching the explosion of different expressions take over his brothers’ face. Lucifer’s in particular was enjoyable, his rage twisting into angry embarrassment, although it was nothing compared to the level that Poland had just displayed on her own face. Asmo continued.

“You’re telling me you honestly didn’t know? The scent in the air is _more_ than blood, you know. It’s tissue too.”

Levi gagged near the back of the group. Asmo sighed.

“But,” Beel said, “It was so strong. I thought she was hurt. Why did it smell like so much blood?”

“Beel, if she had been actually injured and bleeding that much, she wouldn’t have been hiding it. Her flow is just heavy is all.”

“How do you know that?” Mammon gaped.

“Because, it’s hormones. It comes with being the Avatar of Lust, I smell these kinds of things better than the rest of you. I could tell her period was coming for a few weeks now, as her body seemed to finally settle down and relax.”

“Why didn’t you warn us then?” Lucifer grumbled.

“Because, it’s not any of your business? Listen, I didn’t think you would be so rude as to start _smelling_ her openly. I suppose I had too much faith in all of you,” he shook his head and glanced down the way Poland ran, “Poor thing. She was just starting to relax too. Now her stress is through the roof.”

All the brothers looked around guiltily.

“Frankly I’m surprised you didn’t realize what was going on, Satan. Haven’t you read about this in a book before?” He didn’t bother waiting for the other to respond, “Well, it’s all in the past now. The best thing we can do for her is to give her space and apologize later,” Asmo sniffed the air, “Was somebody baking?”

“Poland was. Someone check to make sure the oven doesn’t catch on fire,”

“I’ll go,” Levi said. Strangely, Beel didn’t even turn to look towards the kitchen. Instead, he stepped towards Asmo.

“Isn’t there anything we can do to make up for it? I feel bad. I was the one who made a big deal about it and got Lucifer involved.”

“Aw, Beel. I’m sure she won’t be too mad at you. But, it is honestly for the best we leave her be for the time being. She’ll probably come out of her room eventually, but if you want, we can leave food and stuff at her door so she doesn’t have to. I’ll let you know when I sense that she’s calmed down, but I think even then we should keep our distance.”

* * *

By the time Poland had stopped crying, she felt completely exhausted and drained. She had stained her pillow completely with tears, and wanted nothing more than to sink deeper into it and just drift away into sleep, but she hadn’t eaten yet. Combined with the cramps, which she always swore weren’t that bad (but then they snuck up on her and became ultra painful anway) her stomach felt like it was being strangled and knotted up. Her chest hurt, and her eyes were rubbed raw. She needed to get food, but she dreaded leaving her room.

What might have been worse though, was despite how angry she was at everything that had happened, what she _truly_ wanted was to be surrounded by all of the brothers.

She only had pacts with three of them so far, but she felt close with them all. She had read enough stories through her life in the human realm about boyfriends taking care of their girlfriends on their periods. Romantic, dreamy scenarios that sometimes bordered on more spicy situations, but ultimately boiled down to ideas of care, protection, and comfort. The problem was, she wasn’t dating any of her pactmates, and she wasn’t even sure what sort of messy, romantic, drama filled cobweb would be waiting for her if she even tried to play fair and had to pick one of them. She was also dealing with the added effects of her period heightening her desperation and desire for physical touch, despite how disgusting she felt. She couldn’t even be sure if these were true feeling, or if they were just born from the mush of her brain and heart as the latter pumped the hormones throughout her body as she expelled grossness for the next week or so.

_Still,_ she thought as she pulled the blanket up over her and turned onto her side, hugging her stomach as she tried to ignore the painful sensation that made bile rise in her throat, _it would be nice to be cared for. At least once…_

* * *

“Hmm, that’s a surprise,” Asmo muttered as he finished brewing a fresh cup of tea for Poland.

“What is?” Lucifer asked.

“I could be wrong, but… it seems she wants to see us sooner than I expected.”

“Can you really tell all that from just hormones?” Mammon asked, “I don’t want to end up getting hit again.”

“You only got hit with a spoon. Quit complaining,” Lucifer tsked. Asmo swiped a few pastries that had been saved from the oven onto a tray along with the cup and saucer. He would have to get a few painkillers too, in case the tea didn’t do enough.

“Everyone, up. You’re all apologizing now. I’m going in first, though.”

They all stood up from their chairs and fell into line behind Asmo, melancholically making their way to her room.

* * *

Poland was drifting in and out of sleep when there was a knock at her door. Her eyelids were heavy and she didn’t have the energy to get up and open her door. She hadn’t locked it, so she just raised a hand in the air and grumbled loud enough so whoever was there could hear, “Come in.”

There was silence as the door clicked open, then shuffling across the floor before she felt the strong presence of her housemates hovering over her. She may not be able to smell them, but they all had impressively strong auras (she didn’t believe in that sort of thing, but they did emit _something)_ even outside of their demon form, and besides, the guilt seeping off of them was palpable.

“I take it that I don’t need to explain what’s going on now?” She said, and the collective sigh from all of them brought a smirk to her face. She rolled over so she could face them all, and tried to stifle her laughter at the sight of the stony wall the five brooding, regretful faces surrounding the radiating and smiling Asmodeus. She could practically see the flowers and rainbows bouncing off him as he motioned to the tray of food in his arms.

“We brought offerings,” he joked, “you haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

“No, so I guess you’re all forgiven.”

She pushed herself up against the pillows and took one of the foods from the tray. She had no appetite but was starving, so she ate in small bites. Asmo set the rest of the tray on her nightstand, and the rest of the men seemed at a loss about what to do or where to go. Trying to break the tension, she held out a piece of the pastry to Beelzebub. Soon enough, Mammon filled the space next to her on the bed and the rest of them took positions on either side or, like Asmodeus, draped themselves along the foot of the bed.

“So, do I really smell that bad right now?”

“No, no, not at all!” Asmo assured her, “Demons are just particularly sensitive to things like blood. It’s not really a _bad_ smell, it’s just that we associate it with bad things.”

“So that’s why you thought I was injured.”

“In some cases, blood can smell _good_ to demons.”

“What are you, secretly vampires? No wait, if anything you’re all a bunch of dogs. Especially Mammon and Lucifer.”

Normally, the way Lucifer’s expression tightened and crossed with an even darker, embarrassed shadow would frighten her, but she was too tired to care and was certain he wouldn’t dare lecturing her after he walked in here with his tail in between his legs. In some ways, she felt blessed being on her period.

Sure, it made her a “bitch” with all her out of whack emotions, but in moments like this, she felt like _a bad bitch,_ so…

She took another bite of the pastry and then leaned over Mammon, who was huddled against her side, and swapped it out for the tea. She spotted the painkillers on the tray, and winced.

“You’re not going to take them?” Asmo asked.

“No… I mean… I might, I’ve always just been a bit weird about medicines.”

Satan perked up at that, “But you’re drinking medicinal tea right now. And I thought you were into herbalism?”

“I am, but painkillers have always felt… strange to me. It’s like I don’t really feel like I need them, even though I know they’ll help. I mean, if someone hounds me enough about them, I usually end up taking them. It just seems like too much effort on my own.”

“They’re right there though, I don’t understand what effort is hindering you,” Lucifer said.

“I guess I’m just unnecessarily lazy?”

“Sounds like you’re depressed, babe,” Mammon said, flopping against the pillows. Poland cupped her hand around the teacup to keep the liquid from sloshing out as Mammon knocked against her arm, “Whoops, sorry.”

“Do you get severe pain during this time? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but if you _should_ be taking them and find you can’t, we could help remind you or make them available to you at meals so it’s less of a chore.”

“That’s the thing. I guess I don’t… feel like the pain I’m having is bad enough to take them? So maybe that’s why I resist.”

“But you are in pain, right?” Mammon asked.

Poland shifted and leaned back against the pillows, “I guess? I mean- yeah, okay I guess I’m in pain. I have a headache too.”

Mammon scooped up the pills and dropped them into Poland’s hand. She popped them into her mouth and chugged the tea, swallowing with much struggle and a grimace. She rested her fingers over her throat as she breathed.

“I also have choked pretty easily in the past so, maybe that’s why I’m always hesitant to take them.”

“Any other symptoms you feel comfortable sharing with us?” Lucifer said.

“I’ve never been good at understanding my own body and what I’m supposed to expect. I’ve always just felt that I sleep a lot before and during it. It’s like my body doesn’t want to deal with it, so it knocks me out. I don’t like it though because then I feel like I waste so much time.”

“Are you tired right now?”

“A little. I was about to drift off when you guys came in.”

“Sleep will be good for you though. You got up early, and it’s a day off. You can rest. Your tasks for RAD are important, but not that important that you can’t take time for yourself.”

Poland’s hands wrapped around the cup tighter. It meant a lot hearing Lucifer say that, but…

“I know that,” she hung her head and stared into the empty cup, “I only have a limited time here. I feel like.. If I sleep too long I’ll miss out on things. There was a period of my life when I was younger where I slept a lot, and I’ve always felt like I wasted so much time and lost all my potential because no one woke me up or made me do things normally. I guess I’m scared if I sleep now, I’ll lose precious time with all of you.”

There were a few beats of silence as Poland’s tired brain tried to catch up with what she had just said. Once it did though, she was fumbling to put on a fake smile.

“I guess you all should head out now. I’m getting sappy with all my hormones running about-”

Lucifer put a hand on her shoulder.

“We’ll make sure to wake you up by noon. Then, you can have lunch with us and we can make sure you do the things you want to without sleeping for too long.”

Levi moved forward then, stuttering nervously as he pushed Lucifer out of the way to lean closer, “Yeah! There’s a new Mononoke event going on later, so I’ll make sure you’re awake for that if you want to play! And I’ll make sure you don’t miss anything like a TSL marathon or gacha event or-”

Laughter cut him off. Bright, cheery laughter that chimed in the silence as all the men watched on as the girl in the bed wiped a happy tear from her eye and smiled without pain. When she was done, she leaned back against the pillows, and relaxed.

“Thank you. I’m sure it seems minor but, hearing that means so much to me. I tend to be a pain to get out of bed when I’m tired, especially during my period. My family kind of gave up on waking me up after the third try so often I would sleep for too many hours.”

“We’ll make sure you’re awake in time,” Asmo said, giving her a pat on the head and pulling the cup from her, “Rest now. We’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Thank you. Oh, Mammon, you can stay if you want. You seem pretty settled in there.”

The demon in question was practically burrowed against one of her pillows, arms crossed as he flipped onto his side to give her a stink eye.

“Sure, the Great Mammon will watch over you and make sure you get anything you need if you wake up-”

“Mammon, that just makes you sound like a simp.”

“I-I’m not!” He screamed, and Poland shoved a pillow over his face to silence him. She hoped the ibuprofen would kick in soon. Poland hated admitting it, but she did have a bad headache and Mammon shouting wouldn’t help it.

“Well then,” Asmo clapped his hands together, “We’ll take our leave now. Rest well darling!”

He gave Poland another pat on the head before slipping off the bed, the rest of the brothers following behind him. Leviathan was still stuttering out promises of what he would make sure Poland was awake for, Satan smiled and wished she would feel better, and Lucifer hovered for a moment before he leaned over and fixed the blankets. He stalked out of the room soon after, leaving Beelzebub behind standing over the bed.

“Beel? Did you want to stay too? There’s room.”

Mammon grumbled a protest, but Poland weaved her hand under the blankets to pinch him. He shuffled over to make space.

“You get… tired a lot when you’re bleeding?”

“Yeah. Like I said, I don’t know why, I just tend to oversleep.”

“Would you be tired at RAD then?”

“Probably. I never went so far as falling asleep in class, but even on days when I didn’t have my period if I was bored enough I did drift off. It hasn’t happened with RAD yet because Lucifer is always on my case, but I might get done in this time.”

He seemed fidgety, as if he was scared to ask something. Poland reached out and put her hand on his arm, and Beel looked up.

“Hey. What’s wrong?”

“I was just thinking… how you remind me of Belphie.”

Poland felt Mammon freeze beside her, but luckily he knew enough to keep his mouth shut. He hadn’t been present for any of her and Beel’s conversations about the youngest, so he probably didn’t even know until now that she knew of Belphie’s existence. Poland didn’t know if Beel had opened up about missing his twin to any of the other brothers, but Mammon must have known something, because he kept quiet and went about smoothing out the rest of the pillows.

“Belphie sleeps a lot, he’s the Avatar of Sloth so he’s supposed to, but even in the Celestial Realm he did that too. I used to carry him to class and home at RAD, I was just… remembering that.”

“Aw, Beel,” Poland sighed and slid her hand up to cup his cheek, “I know you miss him. I’m sorry for reminding you of that. I know you miss him.”

He shook his head against her hand, and from the way his hair moved when he shook he looked like a sad puppy, “It’s not that. I was just thinking… if you get tired I can carry you around like I did with Belphie. If you’re okay with that.”

She paused, her mouth opening before she managed a small smile, “Of course I’m okay with that. I just don’t want you guys feeling like my servants when I’m like this. I’m able to manage myself. Besides, I was worried the smell was making you all uncomfortable.”

“We weren’t uncomfortable, just concerned.”

“Alright, if you two are done,” Mammon cut in, “I believe you said you were tired? If not I do have better things I can be doing if you’re going to keep on yabbering.”

Poland pulled back from Beel and Mammon practically shoved her under the blankets, pulling her propped up pillows out from underneath her so she sunk down onto the mattress finally. She shuffled over so Beel could climb in beside her, and together, they walled her in.

“We’re here for ya, so even if those idiots forget to wake you, we’ll make sure you’re up in time and then we’ll keep you busy all day that you’ll be tired enough to go to bed at a normal time tonight. That’ll keep your sleep schedule normal.”

“Thanks guys,” Poland breathed in and shut her eyes, sighing as she felt the warmth radiating off her two pactmates before she let her mind sink deeper into the softness of the bed and eventually into the ocean of slumber.


	2. Epilogue

“Belphie, what’s the matter?”

It was a few months later. Menstruation had become less of a strange topic for Poland and the brothers as she relaxed into her life at the House of Lamentation and the regularity of it resulted in the brothers not being so panicked the next time they smelled blood wafting through the house. True to their word, they made sure she didn’t sleep too long, Satan kept her in check with medicines that would help her be more comfortable during the time, and as she got closer to them and gained more pacts, she found the number of warm bodies joining her during her naps growing. However, this was the first time Belphie was free from the attic and witnessing her going through one, so it was back to square one of re-explaining everything.

Of course, being Belphie, he saw no issue with her joining him from a nap. Alone. And even though Poland knew it would lead to her oversleeping, she let it go this once.

The two of them were upstairs in the attic, sprawled out on their backs on the small bed Belphie had napped on for nearly a year when he was trapped up here. Belphie kept making a weird face, so Poland decided to finally ask.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just wondering, when Lilith became a human, did she get periods? Did she suddenly have to deal with this?”

Poland grimaced at that, “Probably. I mean, I’m her descendant, so she had to have to have children. I can’t imagine her shock at getting her first one though.”

“She must have been lonely… and in a lot of pain, right?”

“I mean, it’s possible. I don’t really know how long ago or what time she ended up in when she became a human, but she was in love with someone, right? I’m sure they taught her a lot about what was happening, maybe they even had a family that welcomed and explained everything to her.”

Belphie hummed, “I still don’t like that Lucifer kept that information from us. I would have liked to have seen her, to visit her when she was sick, when she was hurting. I wonder if she was in pain when she first became a human, when she had a child. I wish I could have seen her child. Was it a boy or a girl…?”

Belphie’s eyes were shut and his voice was monotone as always, but Poland picked up on the sadness that was stirring within. She turned onto her side and reached out, poking his cheek so his eyes fluttered open.

“What?”

“They have DNA tests nowadays that go back generations. If I took one, I might be able to find out.”

“I don’t know if it would go _that_ far back,” he sighed.

“True, but we could try, if you really wanted to know.”

“No, it’s fine,” he rolled onto his side and faced her. His hand came out and settled on her waist gently. He was still growing used to touching her after what he had done, but she didn’t flinch away, and there was still a big enough space between them that she could move if she was uncomfortable, “Are you thinking about having any children?”

“I’m a bit too young for that still, I think,” she laughed, “Besides, wouldn’t I have to deal with the messiness of figuring out which of you brothers I was having a kid with?”

Belphie’s hand stuttered against her side and his face turned bright red, “What? Don’t… Don’t say things like that!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I don’t want to have to deal with Diavolo, Barbatos, and Lucifer’s wrath if I end up causing issues by having a demon-human hybrid.”

“Except if it’s Lucifer’s. Although I doubt he’ll make a good father, just look at him and Satan.”

Poland laughed loudly at that, and shuffled closer. She tucked her head against Belphie’s chest and sighed.

“True, true. But you never know.”

“You’re tired now?”

“Yup.”

“Good. Now I can actually do my job.”

He rolled over some more so he was laying on top of her, his weight relaxing her as she was pressed down into the blankets. She wrapped her arms around his back while Belphie tucked his head into her neck.

He breathed in and nuzzled closer.

The scent of blood filled his senses, and for a moment, his grip tightened, and his memories drifted back to that horrible moment when he lost himself and had thrown her broken, bloodied body down the stairs.

He felt her hands tracing patterns on his back, and he breathed in again. The smell back then…

It had been rusty yet sterile, smelling as blood should when it was pouring out of the body in such massive quantities. It was distant yet strong and fresh from where he stood atop the stairs.

This smell…

It was muted and sweet. His nose was stronger than humans and it certainly could be mistaken for an injury, but there was something natural and earthy about the scent that surrounded her entire body. Maybe it was her attempting to cover it up, maybe it was perfume Asmo had gifted her or something in her hair.

Either way, he breathed in some more, and the red behind his eyes faded, the memory drifting away as he followed her into sleep.

_She didn’t smell bad at all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've read a lot of menstruation fics in the OM fandom already, and most of them follow the idea of the demons not knowing humans have periods and MC having to awkwardly explain things. I decided to present it here as demons do have periods (as I'm guessing Diavolo's dad doesn't just wave his hand and make more demons? Unlike the Celestial Realm I guess...) and the brothers were just not connecting the dots, mainly because I headcanon all of them except for Asmo being too emotionally constipated and awkward to get close to any demon. It was also a good way to introduce Prisaris, a demon OC my beta-reader (who isn't into OM) made as Poland's friend at RAD. She'll be appearing in future stories, and when art of her is finally posted I'll add it to the notes of the stories she appears. She's a fish demon who just acts as Poland's chaotic outlet/bad influence, and I can't wait to write when she actually appears.


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